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Journalism of Courage
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This is an archive article published on January 5, 2010
Play Zone
At the National School of Drama at Mandi House,the lines at the ticket counter are getting longer,the smiles broader.
At the National School of Drama (NSD) at Mandi House,the lines at the ticket counter are getting longer,the smiles broader. The winter air is filled with whispered opinions as theatre veterans,young aficionados and students huddle around discussing plays that will be staged at the Bharat Rang Mahotsav,the institutes annual celebration,which begins on January 6.
As always,the pamphlet lists shows from every genre,from the retelling of world classics,such as Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House (by a group from Nepal ) and Euripides Medea (by Kannada actors),to exploring dance as a theatre vocabulary in Delhi-based Anusha Lalls non-verbal piece called Tilt . All the plays have been made in the past two years. Making a shortlist is always difficult,more so this year when we had 450 entries and could fit in only 87 productions, says Amal Allana,the chairperson of NSD.
A common thread is the inventive directorial treatment of texts like Bhavabhutis Uttararamacharitam by KN Pannikar,and forging of new vocabularies like devised theatre a recent trend in Indian theatre in which everybody,from the actors to the set designer,creates the story and the play represented by works like Ecdysis: A Snake Sheds its Skin and In/Out/In.
Director Maya Krishna Rao,meanwhile,takes Lady Macbeth out of William Shakespeares text and explores her as an individual in Lady Macbeth Revisited.
Theres always a buzz surrounding international productions,but Kalidasas Shakuntala as told by students of a theatre school in Pakistan has got theatre-goers curious. The students probably learn the text as part of classical theatre. Nonetheless,itll be interesting to see how they interpret the story, says Allana. The 13 foreign productions this year include Orphan of Zhao from China,known for its grand sets,and The Spirits Play in which a troupe from Singapore dives into folk legends. So,if you find that all roads lead to Mandi House,join in.
The festival will be held till January 22.
Contact: 011-23383420
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